Cheating

[JGRacing]

Not sure if anyone else has seen this on racingjunk.com, but there is one person selling a traction control device for legends cars and another company that re-valves the sealed shocks.  One thing that really ticks me off are companies that so openly will help you cheat.  They are just leaches that suck the life out of a series.  Things like this mess up racing for the people who can't spend thousands on hidden traction control devices or cheated up shocks.  Davis Technologies that makes a lot of the traction control devices is here in my area and I've seen a few local dirt cars from some pretty successful drivers doing things on the track that are pretty suspicious.

Any thoughts on how to keep this stuff out of legends cars?  Does anyone have any advice for officials or competitors on what to watch for?  Has 600 Racing ever taken any legal action against any of these companies (it might be hard to do, but could at least cost the cheater companies a lot in legal fees)?  This kind of stuff is one reason I am getting out of modifieds.         

[justfreaky]

 John,

 You did notice that the catagory is Dwarf/Legends. There is a lot of that stuff that is legal in Dwarf Car racing.  Also, there are some of us who are using our cars in organizations other than INEX.

 Just my .o2 worth

 Steve

[JGRacing]

Didn't mean to sould like I am going off on people using things like this in classes where they are legal.  In these adds they are advertising them for legends cars and the shock add even says "with out any external indication of tampering".  If someone is using re-valved shocks or using traction control in a class where it is legal, they shouldn't need to be making these things hidden.  The hidden traction control stuff is really expensive and gives people a huge advantage when they can get away with it.  I just want to see how we can keep this stuff out of classes like legends cars. 

[justfreaky]

 There is always going to be a small percentage of people who will bend the rules. I think that we have to have faith in the tech inspectors and the grievence process. I think you will find most people are like you and me; racing on a budget, and having fun doing what we like to do.

Steve

PS,
 I got out of mods, years ago, for the same reasons.

[jon8j]

Traction Control?!  Revalved Shocks!?!?!  Where can I find some of that?  Man, we could do some winnin' then!!!  Just funnin'.  Yep, we see some here and there that seem suspicious.  But I lecture my son that we're fast enough to win almost everywhere we've gone this year -  if you could take out the "stupid factor".  Shoot, let's just concentrate on going as fast as we can and beat 'em anyway.  And besides, I'd be absolutely humiliated to have my name in the "Penalty Box" in the 600 mag.
Jon

[JGRacing]

Publish people's names in the magazine?  That's great.  I like their thinking. 

[gbmetcalf]

Here is the traction control ad.......

$2,000.00
Have a Traction Control system for use on a legends car. This system was designed specifically for legends cars by Davis Technologies. Comes complete with user manual and instructions. Makes a big difference in improving handling and lap times! We no longer have a use for this device as we are getting out of racing completely. Price is $2000 Firm

This ad dosn't mention Dwarf cars....but who knows what they were thinking.

Brian

[gbmetcalf]

This is the shocks ad.....................

STEWART DEVELOPMENT
The premier rebuilder for the legends series of racing, providing a complete service for all sealed Bilstein shocks. Valving possibilities are endless allowing you to now fine tune your suspension to each track for that "special" edge over the competition. Increase the drivabilitiy of your car while dramatically reducing your lap times. Utilizing the most advanced machine in the industry, Stewart Development is able to re-valve any Bilstein shock with out any external indication of tampering. We can go as mild or wild as you would like.

Please call (336) 472-8772 for more information.
Confidentiality is guaranteed.

The things that "pop" out at me is their use of "special edge" and "Confidentiality is guaranteed"

[VMS Motorsports]

That same shock ad is on eBay too...kind of stupid to spend your cash that way if you ask me...but Im just one of the old "dirt  racin' farm boys", do whatcha want to your shocks, motor, tires, whatever... It's still a drivers game on clay!

[Tom Cole]

My problem is that I don't have a clue what would make one shock better than the other.  I'm assuming that they control how quickly the shock collapses and how quickly the shock rebounds.  I would guess that this would help with timing of weight transfer???

I guess the way to combat this is to have a shock swap rule, or a shock dyno, or both.

As far as traction control devices.  I wish we could get some pictures on here of them to let people know what to look for.   What are the tell tales?

[justfreaky]

Tom,
 That is exactly what they do to the shocks; Change the valving. Yes, it does help with weight transfer. The old Carerra shocks were 3 way adjustable, but people were even revalving those.
 I'm not sure which traction control devices are being referred to. I would assume that they are to inhance weight transfer.

Steve

[Tom Cole]

From what I have heard, the traction control devices keep the rear wheels from spinning if you stand on the throttle coming off the turn. 

I have heard that some of the ones in the legends cars are plugged in and removed by the driver.  So they could remove it and put it in their pocket before they even came off the track.  I have not seen one, and I wonder if a good driver couldn't beat it anyway.  Throttle engagement is a feeling, and you can tell the drivers who get it just by watching them race.  Seems to me that such a gismo is just doing that  job for an inexperienced driver.  That being said, I'm not worried about my driver getting beat by it.  Sounds like a crutch for folks who aren't smart enough to learn how to setup/adjust a car.

As far as shocks go, INEX could do a shock swap and really screw up a cheater's setup.

[MegaMang]

Inex has considered this problem.  Here is a link to their tech info update...

http://600racing.com/inex_info/tech_updates/521410.html

[Tom Cole]

Thanks for the link.

What about worn out shocks?  How can you tell if your shocks are still good, and can INEX tell the difference between wear and tear and tampering?

[MegaMang]

Now there's a darn good question I'd like to see answered.  I know that some guys have dyno'd their shocks to check for wear, but I don't know if there's a dyno graph that would prove cheating over wear...